UPCOMING EVENTS

Amazon today launched a feature for AI assistant Alexa called Blueprints that gives users the power to create their own Alexa skills. Alexa Skill Blueprints require no prior knowledge of coding. Just fill in the blanks and your Blueprints skill can be made and launched in a matter of minutes.

Blueprints launches today for Alexa users in the United States and includes 20 kinds of skills templates.

Personalized skills created with Blueprints will be assigned to devices registered to a specific Amazon account and will not appear among the more than 30,000 skills in the Alexa Skills Store.

At launch, Blueprints can be made to do things like anticipate questions from the babysitter or a houseguest. Flashcard or quiz Blueprints can be created to help you study. Blueprint templates are also available if you want to shower someone (or yourself) with compliments, roast your friends, or create Family Jokes or Family Trivia skills.

Blueprints join a series of voice apps available for Amazon’s Alexa, including flash briefings for news, smart home skills, and visual skills for Echo Show and Echo Dot.

Other personalization methods Amazon has committed to bringing to Alexa developers in the first half of 2018 include skills notifications and unique voice identification through Amazon’s Your Voice program.